Spousal Catechesis

Christian catechisms of the question and answer variety came
into their own in the sixteenth century. The German Reformer Johannes Brenz developed
a Q. & A. catechism for propagating the (revised) Christian faith as early
as 1527. Luther followed suit two years later with his Large and Short Catechisms.
The Reformed wasted little time in jumping on the Q. & A. catechesis
bandwagon, with notable offerings eventually made by Calvin, the Heidelberg
divines Ursinus and Olevianus, and -- a century later -- select members of the
Westminster Assembly. The catechisms produced by the persons just named are,
however, just the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Q. & A.
catechisms were written during the period, each propagating some specific
version of the historic Christian faith (Reformed, Lutheran, Roman Catholic,
Anabaptist, etc.).

In general, early modern Christian catechisms fall into one
of two categories: there are those directed at young children and/or beginners
in doctrine; and there are those directed at more advanced believers, perhaps
even ministers/clergy. The Short(er) Catechisms of Luther and Westminster would
fall into the first category. The Large(r) Catechisms of Luther and Westminster
would fall into the second.

In Protestant traditions, the Church assumed primary
responsibility for administering catechesis to believers in need of such. In
Scotland, for instance, Sunday afternoon services were specifically devoted to
catechesis, with ministers (when available) catechizing the youth in the
prescribed presence of their parents. But catechesis also occurred in private
homes (i.e., parents catechizing their children) and, at least in Lutheran
Germany, in state-sponsored schools, which proliferated throughout the country
following Luther's 1524 appeal to civil authorities to establish the same.

In 1545, the Englishman Robert Legate wrote a catechism
explicitly intended for use within the home, though with an interesting twist.
Legate intended his catechism to be administered not by parents to their
children, but by husbands to their (own) wives (and perhaps vice versa). The
title of his work says as much: A breife
catechisme and dialogue betwene the husbande and his wyfe: contaynynge a
pyththy declaracyon of the Pater noster, Crede, and tene Commaundementes, very
necessary for all men to knowe.

The body of Legate's catechism, true to its title, comprises
a scripted dialogue between a married pair, the husband consistently asking the
questions and his wife providing sound theological answers. It begins thus:

The Husband: What arte
thou my most deare wyfe?

The Wyfe: I am a
Christen woman (ryght wel-beloved husbande) and God's chylde.

The Husband: How
knowest thou that?

The Wyfe: Because I do
believe the worde of God, and also am baptised in Christes name.

The Husband: What is
your beleve?

Wyfe responds to the last with a polished rehearsal of the
Apostles' Creed. The reforming tendencies of the catechism as a whole become
apparent as specific articles of the Creed are unpacked. So, for instance, Wyfe
accents the exclusive role that faith plays in justification in response to
Husbande's question "What is it: the forgeveness of synnes?"

The Wyfe: That is, all
we that beleve in Christe, have through him forgyvenesse of all our synnes,
whiche forgyveness is declared & promysed unto us in the holy Gospell,
through the onely grace & mercy of God promysed unto us in Christe. Therfor
whosoever with an earnest beleve dependeth upon the Gospell, hath forgyvenesse
of all hys synnes.

In his opening letter to the "Christen reader" Legate provides
a brief apology for his catechism. He notes that many parents fail to properly
instruct their children in the knowledge of the Lord because they "knowe not
themselves wherein the ryght and true Chrstendome consysteth." "How is it than
possyble," he continues, "that they shulde instructe and geve good example to
their chyldren, whan they knowe not themselves the wholsome learnynge and will
of their loadesman & master Jesus Christ, of whose name not withstandynge
they boaste and bragge themselves?" Part of the problem, he seems
to think, lies in Christian folk's gravitation towards tomfoolery and entertainment over thoughtful
theological conversation. "Ye fathers and mothers, learne your children these
[Christian] thynges, and not tales of robyne hood with suche other vayne
fables." Legate's goal, in sum, is to see parents sufficiently versed in
Christian doctrine to fulfill God's command to bring children up "in the
instruction and discipline of the Lord" (Eph. 6.4).

Having examined Legate's work this morning, I'm feeling duly
convicted for the rehearsal of Robin Hood I had planned for the family after
supper tonight. For what it's worth (and in my defense), I had planned to
conclude this evening's festivities with some catechesis. And, despite the
obvious merits of Legate's work, I'm likely to continue using the Westminster
Shorter Catechism for our family's catechetical needs (or at least my
perception of them), not least because switching to Legate would entail the
awkwardness of one or several of my kids prematurely playing the role of a spouse. I might,
however, try to convince my wife to give Legate's catechism a go, if only to
hear her call me, just this once, her "ryght wel-beloved husbande."

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